According to Politico, Long is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General over whether he used official government vehicles and personnel, and by extension, taxpayer funds, to make personal six-hour drives on the weekends from Washington, D.C., to his home in Hickory, North Carolina.

When FEMA administrator Brock Long started his job a year ago, he began to take routine trips home to North Carolina, using a government driver and vehicle to make the six-hour trek from Washington, D.C. An aide, who would stay in hotel room at taxpayer expense, would also accompany Long on these trips.

"Any questions regarding a particular investigation should be directed to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (DHS OIG)". Doing something unethical is not part of my DNA and it's not a part of my track record in my whole entire career.

Also at issue is Long's use of staff drivers for some of those trips back and forth, and travel expenses those aides incurred.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban (L) arrives for an EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia on May 17, 2018. The European Parliament's legal services will verify the count, but is not expected to overturn it.

FEMA director of external affairs Jessica Nalepa said any questions regarding an investigation should be directed to the DHS IG, adding FEMA "fully cooperates with all investigations conducted by the DHS OIG".

"At this time, we are fully focused on preparing for, responding to, and recovering from Hurricane Florence and the storms in the Pacific".

Long reportedly began having a government driver take him home since he took control of FEMA a year ago. "The Secretary is confident in the leadership at FEMA and their proven disaster management ability", DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton said in a statement to The Hill on Friday.

"Right now, that money has nothing to do with what you see behind us", Long said from FEMA's response center in Washington. He is now overseeing the preparations for HurricaneFlorence, which is expected to hit the Southeast hard. He need only look at Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for examples of officials who misused taxpayer resources to jaunt around the country but have not suffered any consequences.

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That's enough to fill the Chesapeake Bay or cover the entire state of Texas with almost 10 centimetres of water, he calculated. More than 60 people had to be rescued in another town as a cinderblock motel collapsed at the height of the storm's fury.

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The ocean waters that Florence is travelling over are about 2.7 degrees (1.5 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal, McNoldy said. Despite newer forecasts showing the storm turning south, it has the potential to be devastating for the coast and inland areas.

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